New Leonard Cohen album planned for 80th birthday

The Canadian singer is set to unveil Popular Problems in September, Rolling Stone reports.

Leonard Cohen, performing at the Air Canada Centre in 2012, turns 80 on Sept. 21.

By:Elysa GardnerUSA Today, Published on Mon Aug 11 2014

How does Leonard Cohen plan to celebrate his upcoming milestone birthday? Apparently, by releasing a new album.

Rolling Stone is reporting that the revered Canadian singer/songwriter, who will turn 80 on Sept. 21, is set to unveil a new album, Popular Problems, that month. Though Cohen’s representative has not confirmed the release, word slipped last week at the officially sanctioned fan convention Leonard Cohen Event 2014 in Dublin.

Jarkko Arjatsalo, who runs Cohen’s official site, wrote in his foreword to the event booklet that the musician has been working on a “studio album of entirely new songs,” adding, “He asked me to let you know that Popular Problems will be out at the end of September, shortly after his 80th birthday.” (Amazon France is listing a Sept. 22 release date.)

In an e-mail to Rolling Stone, Arjatsalo confirmed that he received the information “directly from Leonard.” Arjatsalo later clarified that there are no tour plans.